Maʿīn
Editor: Jérémie Schiettecatte
SITE INFORMATION
| Ancient name | Qrnw |
| Country | Yemen |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī Madhab |
| Governorate | al-Jawf |
| Kingdom | Maʿīn, capital |
| Coordinates | Latitude: 16° 07' 41" Longitude: 44° 48' 51" |
| Coordinates accuracy | certain |
| Type of site | Settlement |
| Tribe | Tribe: Mʿn Tribe: Mʿn w-Yṯl Tribe: Mʿnm Tribe: Mʿnm w-Yṯl Tribe: Mʿnm w-ḏ Yṯl Tribe: Ns²n Tribe: S¹bʾ Lineage: ʾbwkl Lineage: ʾḍrʾ Lineage: ʾṣrm Lineage: ʾṯʾb Lineage: ʾws¹n Lineage: ʿd Lineage: ʿdn Lineage: ʿdr Lineage: ʿhd Lineage: ʿhr Lineage: ʿlyʾl Lineage: ʿmd Lineage: ʿmm Lineage: ʿmrtʿ Lineage: ʿqb Lineage: ʿrhs¹ Lineage: ʿrkt Lineage: ʿs²r Lineage: Bʾs¹ Lineage: Bʿdʾl Lineage: Brr Lineage: Bwbn Lineage: Bws¹n Lineage: Bẓʿ Lineage: Dbr Lineage: Ḏwl Lineage: Ḍnmn Lineage: Ḍrḥ Lineage: Fʾd Lineage: Fʾmn Lineage: Fhd Lineage: Gbʾn Lineage: Gdrn Lineage: Gḥḏ Lineage: Glbn Lineage: Gnd Lineage: Gzyn Lineage: Ġrbt Lineage: Ġrn Lineage: Grwt Lineage: Hnwn Lineage: Hwr Lineage: Ḫbzn Lineage: Ḫdmn Lineage: Ḫḍln Lineage: Ḫlyfʿ Lineage: Ḫṯʿ Lineage: Ḥdbr Lineage: Ḥḏʾr Lineage: Ḥḏkt Lineage: Ḥfn Lineage: Ḥmy Lineage: Ḥnḏr Lineage: Ḥrb Lineage: Ḥrḍ Lineage: Ḥṭṭ Lineage: Ḥzmn Lineage: Lġy Lineage: Lly Lineage: Mʾws¹ Lineage: Mʿhr Lineage: Mḏb Lineage: Mḫṣr Lineage: Mḥḍr Lineage: Mlg Lineage: Mlhm Lineage: Mrn Lineage: Mtʿ Lineage: Mwqh Lineage: Nʿm Lineage: Nḍf Lineage: Nmḥn Lineage: Nmr Lineage: Ns¹wr Lineage: Nyṭ Lineage: Qbt Lineage: Qḥl Lineage: Qḥln Lineage: Qlql Lineage: Qmḥḏ Lineage: Qrn Lineage: Qwm Lineage: Rbqn Lineage: Rdʿ Lineage: Rkl Lineage: Rmḍn Lineage: Rs¹fm Lineage: Rtʿ Lineage: Rymn Lignage: S¹ḥr Lineage: S¹qm Lineage: S¹wr Lineage: S¹yl Lineage: S²ʿb Lineage: S²ʿbn Lineage: S²ʿṯm Lineage: S²ftn Lineage: S³ʾfg Lineage: Ṣmʿ Lineage: Ṯmd Lineage: Whbʾl Lineage: Wkl Lineage: Ydʿ Lineage: Yfʿn Lineage: Yhr Lineage: Ylqẓ Lineage: Yṯmt Lineage: Yṯt Lineage: Zʿm Lineage: Zlmn Lineage: Zltn Lineage: Ẓhrn Lineage: Ẓll Lineage: Ẓlwmn Lineage: Ẓwnn Lineage: Ẓyrn |
| Deities | ʾl Qdhm ʾlʾlt Mʿnm ʾlmqh ʿṯtr ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm ʾl Rṣfm ʿṯtr ḏ-Yhrq ʿṯtr Mtbqbḍ ʿṯtr Mtbqbḍ ʾl ʿwhn ʿṯtr Nkrḥ ʿṯtr S²rqn ʿwhn ḏ-Qbḍ ḏ-S¹mwy ḏ-Rgmt ḏt-Ḥmym Khln Mtb Qbḍm Mtbqbṭ Nkrḥ Nkrḥm Qbṭ S¹wr S¹yn S²ms¹ Ḥḍr Wd Wdm Wdm ḏ-ʿmd Wdm ḏ-Dwrn |
| Structures | Dwelling (indeterminate) Dwelling (concentrated) Light hydraulic structure (ex. canal, well) Wells, cisterns Building with political function Rampart Small temple Large temple Graveyard Rock inscriptions |
| Language | Minaic |
| Location and toponomy | This site is located in the lower part of the valley of the Jawf, 100 km north-west of Maʾrib and 12 km north of Barāqish. The site forms a small tell 8 m high, in the centre of the alluvial plain, on the left bank of wādī Madhāb Toponymy Qarnā (Qrnw) [vocalisation by Ch. Robin 2001: 573, 2009: 8, n. 3] |
| History of research | Discovery 1870: J. Halévy (1872, p. 32-33; 1873, p. 600-601): description and copy of 68 inscriptions 1880's: envoys sent by E. Glaser, copy of inscriptions Visits and surveys 1944-45: M. Tawfiq (Nâmî 1952; Tawfiq 1951) 1947: A. Fakhry (1952) 1954: F. Geukens 1978, 1981: MAFRAY (Breton 1994, p. 105-108; Robin 1979, 1981; Robin, Breton, Audouin 1981): plan of the rampart 1979: German archaeological mission: plan of the two sanctuaries (Schmidt 1982a; 1982b) |
| General description | Maʿīn forms a rectangle of 322 m north to south, 310 m east to west, and a perimeter of 1150 m. A long fortified wall surrounds the site. It presents four gates located in the middle of each side of the city-wall. The western gate dominates the others by size and complexity. If we consider only the palaeographic evidence, two construction phases may be identified: the first was the realisation of the largest part of the wall between the end of the 7th century and the 5th century BC. Another restoration phase is attested under the reign of ʾbydʿ Yṯʿ, king of Maʿīn, in the middle of the 4th century BC. The headquarters of the Minaean power resided most probably in Maʿīn (Schiettecatte 2011: 61-62). The remains of four temples are known, two inside the site, two outside the walls. The first intra muros temple is a small hypostyle building of 9,15 x 7 m; the second, about 50 m from the first, was levelled and the only remains are the stone basement and the base of a hexastyle portico. Actually, the inscriptions mention several temples in Maʿīn: - the temple Wrf consecrated to Mtbqbḍ/Mtbqbt, attested since the 8th century BC and open for worship up to the 5th century BC at least. - The temple Ṣrḥm consecrated to Wd. - The temple Kbd consecrated to Nkrḥ. - The extra muros temple Rṣfm consecrated to ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ. This sanctuary devoted to the most important deity of the confederation of Maʿīn, is located 800 m from the city-wall of Maʿīn, in a place called al-Miḥyar. Thanks to its decorations, it belongs to the category of the “Banāt ʿĀd” temples: the temple is small, with a central courtyard surrounded by porticoes and preceded by a tetrastyle monumental portal; the pillars are decorated with female figures to which are added geometrical and zoomorphic friezes. The temple was re-founded by the king Ḫlkrb Ṣdq (c. 6th-5th cent. BC). This organisation corresponds to the second ‘life’ of the temple. Decorated blocks were reused as pillars and paving stones (Breton 1998, p. 66; Schmidt 1982, p. 151). The first ‘life’ probably dates back to an earlier period. Very close to the site, on the south-west side, an area of 160 x 95 m is today studded with clandestine digs. It may be the location of an ancient necropolis. Maʿīn was surrounded by large irrigated perimeter characterised by the presence of alluvial deposits of anthropogenic origin. This perimeter is interspersed with hydraulic structures and the inscriptions mention channels (Maʿīn 1, Maʿīn 44) and wells (Maʿīn 87, Maʿīn 88). |
| Chronology | The accumulation of the occupation layers up to 8 m high suggests a long lasting occupation of the site, possibly before the first epigraphic mention of the site dated to the 8th century BC. In Maʿīn no inscriptions date after the 1st century BC. The city is mentioned one last time, in CIH 609, a few decades later. The site is not mentioned in the context of the expedition of Aelius Gallus, which followed the route that links Nashq (al-Bayḍāʾ) to Yathill (Barāqish), necessarily passing close by Qarnā (Maʿīn). Some areas have also been inhabited for some time during the Islamic period. |
| Classical sources | Eratosthenes of Cyrene in Strabo Géogr., 16, 4, 2 (3rd cent. BC): Κάρνα/Κάρνανα Pliny, Nat. Hist., vi, 32, 154 (1st cent. AD): Carnus Cl. Ptolemy, Geogr. 6.7.34 (2nd cent. AD): Κάρμαν |
| Identification | 1870: Halévy |
| Travellers | [1880 (ca.): emissaries sent by E. Glaser] 1944: M. Tawfiq 1947: A. Fakhry 1954: F. Geukens |
| Archaeological missions | 1978, 1981: Mission Archéologique Française 1979: German Archaeological Mission |
MONUMENTS
| [By A. Agostini] The area in which the site is standing is quadrangular and encircled by a massive defensive construction. A gate opens at every side of the walls. The structures were realized mainly using local limestone and mud bricks in the inner side of the walls, connected by headers. The main gate was probably the western one, according to its complex structure. The passage to the interior of the town is about 2.70 m large. This entrance is 27.40 m long, and comprises two large bastions at each side, being in line with the rest of the city walls. A trapezoidal structure was lately added to them, its sides measuring about 11 m. The passage to the exterior of the town is defended by two other bastions, of different dimensions, and framing an entrance large 1.30 m. The northern bastion has a little staircase inside it. The southern edge of the internal area of this structure is flanked by three pillars (originally four), and they were probably linked to the wall by means of an architrave, thus forming a portico. This later adding was realized with a double curtain of blocks, and often reemploying older ones. |
City walls
Eastern towers of the city walls
Western gate
| [I. Rossi] The temple of Nakraḥ was discovered on the site of Qrnw in 2007. It had been plundered by illegal excavations. It consists of 15 pillars disposed in three rows. Each pillar bears an inscription of dedication to the god Nakraḥ, written during the reign of Abīyadaʿ Yafash son of Nabaṭʾīl, king of Maʿīn, dating back to the early 7th century BCE. |
| [By A. Agostini] It is formed by a rectangular building, measuring 9.15 x 7 m. The walls are realized with a double range of stones (oolithic limestone), with an interior filling. The entrance (large 1.17 m) is located at the northern corner of one of the long sides and was framed by a long corridor (9.15 m), now nearly disappeared. The sacral structure comprises only the hypostyle hall which has two ranges of three pillars, emerging nowadays more than 3 m from the soil. They were supporting at least two levels of architraves, crossing one over the other, and on top a series of covering slabs (now completely absent). |
| [By A. Agostini] It is situated at 50 m west from the previous one. Now it is completely destroyed, and for this reason it is not possible to recognize how the interior was originally designed (hypostyle or court). The remaining foundations encircle an area of 19.50 x 13.40 m. This basement has at W a central nave (large 4 m ca.), while the lateral aisles are divided by a series of longitudinal walls irregularly positioned. The eastern area, just near the entrance, is sustained by a wall grid which traces six foundation boxes. According to its basement blocks, it is possible to envisage an entrance with a six-pillared prostylon. |
| [By A. Agostini] This temple is located at north-east from the site, at a distance of 800 m (al-Miḥyar). The sacral area is delimited by an enclosure, at the centre of which the main building was erected. It measures 20 x 14 m, but the perimeter walls are now largely destroyed. A monumental prostylon with four pillars screens the entrance at W, which is well preserved. The four pillars have a monolithic architrave connected by three beams (originally four) to the door which is opened in one of the small sides. The entrance has two large door jambs which sustain a three-level architrave realized with three longitudinal stone blocks. The entrance has two projecting walls through the interior of the hall delimiting a small vane (large 2.4 m) before entering into the court. Two pillars mark this last passage and a first architrave is still in situ. This was at its turn connected with the door's architrave by stone beams. The hall (15.5 x 12.5 m) has two rows of pillars near the lateral walls of the temple which originally sustained a portico running around a large court. There were seven pillars per row but now only seven of them are still on place. A smaller portico on four pillars was standing opposite to the entrance, this was probably delimiting the main cella. The structure is realized with different techniques and materials: the perimeter walls using blocks of relatively smalls dimensions (50x10 cm), while the remaining sustaining structures are using impressive monolithic blocks. Different types of limestone are also used: oolithic, sandstone and lumachelle type. The latter was that used for engraving the decoration known as the 'Banāt ʿAd'. This reveals a very rich figurative repertoire: chevrons, ibexes, arrows, interweaved snakes and human figures standing head on. Some of them wear a long vest, with chevron decoration and a belt, other have shoulder straps crossing on the chest. They hold a long stick with one hand and a shorter bent instrument with the other. The hairstyle is defined by a central shaving and two lateral tufts. Some fragments not in situ, thus not surely connected with this structure, reveal a stronger narrative intention since they represent a procession of human figures with weapons and musical instruments (a sort of lyre). Some of the decorated blocks, which were originally visible in the portico of the entrance, were later moved and used as beams in the covering structure of this same entrance or for the eastern pillars of the court. This is a proof that this decoration motif was realized in a more ancient stage of the temple, which underwent at least one major reorganization. |
Entrance of the extra muros temple (temple of ʿAthtar dhū Qabḍ)
Temple extra muros (temple of ʿAthtar dhū Qabḍ)
Incised pillar of the temple of ʿAthtar dhū Qabḍ
Decoration of a pillar of the temple of ʿAthtar dhū Qabḍ
Decoration of a pillar of the temple of ʿAthtar dhū Qabḍ
| [By A. Agostini] Scarce traces of a religious structures are scattered at 300 m of distance from the site. One monolithic pillar, and some fragments of others, plus a libation altar, suggest that a sacral building was standing in this position. It was near hydraulic structures and a wall was probably protecting it from water flows. |
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RELATED MATERIAL
| Epigraphs
in CSAI Objects in CSAI |